


Safety.

by HexingQueen



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Healing, PTSD implied
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-20
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2020-07-09 02:23:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19880035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HexingQueen/pseuds/HexingQueen
Summary: "He looks… so sad. She’s seen him like this before, but he looks crestfallen enough to make her heart hurt. In a rare moment for her, she feels an anger at the gods. An anger for putting such a gentle boy in such a horrible, terrible destiny.Really… it makes no sense to her. She wants to protect him."He opens up to her, sometimes.





	Safety.

He stares into space a lot.

Zelda isn’t really surprised by it, considering how much he’s been through. Besides, she gets the impression he was quite dreamy before the twilight, anyway.

“Are you alright?”

Her voice distracts him from his thoughts and he turns his head towards her with a small smile.

"Yeah. I’m sorry.”

"Don’t apologise.”

It surprised her how soft he was, once she really got to know him. They hadn’t exactly met under the best circumstances, and he wasn’t even human the first couple of times their paths had crossed - the third time they met, he was covered in blood and bandages and wielding the weapon of the Gods. So she hadn’t expected him to have framed photos of goats in his house.

It was nice in Ordon. She found herself here often, these days, what with her castle having been destroyed - temporary rooms had been made for her in castle town, but her people had been through enough. Despite being a princess, Zelda didn’t feel the need to be waited on hand and foot, so had given her maids a well-earned break from working. Repairs on the castle were of course priority - not just for her, but for all the staff - so she couldn’t exactly object to people working for her, but she tried to give them a rest if she could. 

When Ganondorf was first killed, she had insisted Link go by Ordon village first rather than take her directly home - he deserved to see his family-of-sorts, she figured, and she wasn’t exactly in a hurry to return to a pile of rubble. Her soldiers weren’t… the most capable, but she trusted them to look after the town for a day or two while she took a break. And besides - she had wanted a bath as soon as possible.

So began the tradition of Princess Zelda staying in Ordon village. It had been awkward at first - she barely knew Link when they first went, and the adults there had gone to such an extreme to treat her like royalty she felt guilty about her decision. 

Since then, though, it had almost become normal. She still caught Uli staring at her in awe sometimes, although she realised very quickly she would never be seen as _just Zelda_ by the Ordonians, but they were welcoming nonetheless. Beth especially was nice to see, as she seemed more focused on how Zelda wielded a bow than how she held a teacup. 

The best part, of course, was seeing Link happy. The two had become incredibly close after their battles (how close was debatable among gossipers in castle town), and though he never complained about visiting her in the capital (if anything, he said, he enjoyed the ride there), she found an odd sort of comfort in seeing him so at home.

Soft. It was a good word to describe him, she thought. 

But still. Even if he looked relatively at peace, there was always that lingering sadness behind his gaze that both upset her and sparked her curiosity. 

“Link?” The princess interrupts his thoughts again, “If you don’t mind me asking, what do you think about so often?”

He doesn’t look shocked at her question, although he does fidget slightly and bring his knees to his chest. He smiles at her a moment, eventually shrugging. “Not much.”

They both know this isn’t true, of course, and although she doesn’t exactly want to push him into talking about something he isn’t comfortable discussing, she can’t help but feel a _little_ frustrated with the answer, as selfish as that is. And, that aside, she truly does want to help him if he needs it.

She’s about to open her mouth again when he speaks first.

“What about you, Princess?”

She blinks for a second, a little frown appearing on her face. “I wish you wouldn’t call me that.”

He laughs slightly, the corners of his eyes creasing, “I’m sorry - it’s just funny.”

"How is it funny?”

"Well,” he raises an eyebrow, “you _are_ the Princess of Hyrule. And here I am having a picnic with you in a village spring.”

That much is true, she’ll give him that. Perhaps it isn’t what a ‘princess’ should be doing, but she feels, after all they have been through, she at least deserves this.

Rather, he deserves it.

Plus, it is a beautiful day. Ordon spring is particularly gorgeous, she thinks, and it’s technically a holy place, so really she is within every right to spend time here. Maybe the food and the boy next to her aren’t part of the job, but… 

“Then you can call me Zelda, since we’re so close.”

“I know, Zeldie, I’m just teasing.”

She likes that name the most. It had surprised her a little when he first called her that, especially considering how wary he was to even call her Zelda at first, but it fitted nicely with his slight accent and it really did make her happy he felt they were so close.

Besides. It was _cute,_ the way she could hear the smile in his voice when he said it.

"To answer your question, then,” she begins, and he leans forward to listen, _"not much."_

“That makes us even.” He grins, crossing his arms, “I guess we both have heads filled with nothing.”

Or too much, she thinks.

“But, you know-” He starts, although he trails off and laughs quietly to himself, shaking his head.

"I know what?”

He looks back up at her, his eyes holding such a strange mixture of intensity and gentleness she doesn’t know whether to look away or hold his gaze forever.

“You can always talk to me. About... stuff.”

She knows. Of course she knows.

“You can talk to me, as well, Link… please don’t hesitate to.”

There’s silence for a moment, although it’s not awkward - if anything, it’s a shared silent ‘thank you’. 

The waterfall flows quietly behind them, the lights dancing on the water. Maybe it’s the beauty of that, or it could be the way the rainbow reflects off his eyes, but she suddenly feels an overwhelming urge to just _protect him._ Telma and the girls in town never shut up about his eyes - they’re like those of a proud beast, the bar owner says, and although Zelda agrees, there’s also something just… serenely gentle about them. Of course there’s no doubting he has the eyes of a warrior when he’s focused, but within that mix of sapphire blue is a kindness and a feeling of comfort that could never be put into words.

So it’s without really thinking she reaches out and takes his hand in her own, her perfectly polished nails beginning to chip slightly, and links their fingers together the way children trying not to get separated in the forest would. Tightly.

“You always can.” She repeats quietly, her gaze not moving from their hands.

She can feel him looking at her, though, and it’s almost enough to make her blush - but she was raised to hide her emotions well, so she doesn’t give away how much her heart is beginning to speed up. 

Honestly, she has no idea when she began to feel like this. At first, staying in Ordon was merely convenience - then it was a small joy. Now it seems almost like home.

He seems like home.

It scares her a little.

“I think about you a lot.” Comes his reply, “...if that’s alright.”

Of course it’s alright, she thinks. But that’s so typical of him - he’s so _good,_ always wanting the best for her, to the point of affirming his thoughts are _alright._

"Of course. Yeah.”

“Very colloquial of you, Princess.”

She looks up at him then, to scold him, but despite the humorous tone to his voice, he is _red._ She’s seen him blush before, and he’s quite easily flustered, but she hadn’t expected him to look so embarrassed. 

"I think about you, too,” she responds, ignoring the name for now, “lots.”

  
There’s a weird sort of tension between them, now, and neither of them can actually figure out what it is. It’s like an odd mixture of wanting to spill all your emotions to someone while being too afraid to actually do it - wanting to hold someone in your arms when holding their hand makes you terrified enough.

She’s sick of this tension every time they talk like this. 

"I think about you all the time,” she continues, her voice cracking slightly, “I think about seeing you for the first time and I think about seeing you fighting-”

She has to pause to compose herself.

“But I think about you like this, as well. Just being yourself… I suppose it brings me comfort seeing you so at peace. It helps me be sure you’re safe, now.”

She looks to him for a reply, but he looks like he’s about to _cry._ It does confuse her a little because she hadn’t really said anything all that emotional or revolutionary, but-

“I get nightmares about that day.”

Zelda knows what day he means, of course. It isn’t exactly hard to figure out. And she supposes it’s natural for him to have nightmares about it, although he had said it rather abruptly. 

She’s glad he’s beginning to open up, though. She doesn’t know whether he has more to say, so she squeezes his hand slightly in an effort to encourage him - although she can’t quite look at him. She’s not sure why, and although she wasn’t raised to be the most _openly_ emotional person, the princess knows if she sees him crying she will surely follow suit.

He does continue, though, to her relief.

“They used to be about Midna. And about Ganondorf, and everything that happened. Sometimes it would just be how dark the sky was, but it wasn’t any less scary.

But…”

“But?”

“I mostly get them about you now.”

His gaze is fixated to the floor in front of her feet, and she curses herself for being slightly inept in these situations - she doesn’t know how he wants her to respond. 

"I’m sorry.” She says softly, finally looking up to his face.

He looks… so sad. She’s seen him like this before, but he looks crestfallen enough to make her heart hurt. In a rare moment for her, she feels an anger at the gods. An anger for putting such a gentle boy in such a horrible, terrible destiny.

Really… it makes no sense to her. Ganondorf she understands. Her own part in the tale she understands, too, and always has done, as Princess. 

But not Link. He’s too good, too pure - as silly as it sounds, the fact he would just be herding goats if none of this had happened is something that makes her feel slightly uncomfortable. Is it really right for the fate of the world to be placed in the hands of such a young boy? As much as it irks her, now isn’t the time for philosophy, so she brushes her thoughts to the side, as he continues talking.

“You know when… when Ganondorf was… When you… you know.”

She nods, knowing exactly what he means. Of course she doesn’t blame him for not wanting to outright say it. How would one word that, anyway? _Oh, you know when Ganondorf took over your body?_

“Did you feel anything?”

“I didn’t,” she responds truthfully, “at that time, I was completely separated from my own body. Perhaps it is a blessing I relied on Midna for that period of time… my body wasn’t really serving much use.”

In all honesty, she really doesn’t like to think about it. It makes her feel dirty in her own skin, sometimes, knowing _he_ had reign over this body for a small while, and she doesn’t like to think about what he would have done if her soul had actually been completely bonded to her body at the time. Most likely, she had come to the conclusion, he would have found a way to forcefully remove her, which would have been remarkably painful. Hence, she had thanked Nayru for the way in which events had happened, even if it wasn’t exactly ideal.

“I just worry.” He says, “I don’t… want to have hurt you.”

“You’ve never hurt me.” She responds softly, “and even if you had then, I wouldn’t have resented you.”

“...I just keep thinking about how he used you like that. And then how you had to fight, and-”

She cuts him off, wrapping her arms around him in a way that surprises both of them. He welcomes the embrace, though, slipping his arms around her waist.

“I keep seeing it. Over and over.” He mumbles, his face buried in the crook of her neck now, the closeness - while not having to really look at her - making it easier to talk, “or seeing him hurt you, or just… just you being hurt. I hate it.”

“I promise you I’m okay. And you know those dreams aren’t real.”

“They feel so real. At the time.”

She knows that feeling all too well, and she hates that she does. 

“...I know,” she whispers, “I know they do, I’m sorry.”

Zelda can feel him shaking slightly, can feel the damp of tears against her neck - but she doesn’t want to press the matter or embarrass him, so she just holds him. 

Her fingers find themselves running through his hair as he calms down, her lips pressed to the top of his head. It isn’t often he shows this much emotion, but the gods themselves knew he had been through more than enough to warrant it.

It would have been an odd scene, to some. The Princess of Hyrule and the _fearless hero_ locked in an embrace in a spring, the latter crying - the sun setting over the water, the wind blowing gently through the trees. Yet, it felt so natural to the both of them - they understood each other in an unspeakable way, and her presence was enough to offer him, _finally,_ after so long, a feeling of safety.

Neither of them had ever really been sure if they would feel completely safe, but they were beginning to hope.

He gave her hope.

Eventually, the Princess leans down to press a momentary kiss against her hero’s forehead, his arms still around her, and in that moment he can forget about every nightmare he’s ever had, if only for a while.

So, when she offers to sleep next to him and be there should he wake up, he knows the answer is, without hesitation, yes.

Zelda knows healing will be no easy task for either of them - they’ve both been through horrors so unspeakable it beggars disbelief, him especially - but as long as they’re both there to protect each other, she knows they’ll get there in the end.

And he knows, for once, this safety is more than temporary. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> I feel like TP Link is misinterpreted by the fandom a lot, because although he can be wonderfully brave, he's also just a village boy who set out to save the kids he cared about.  
> Please leave kudos if you enjoyed, I would appreciate it!! (Comments are even better!)


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